Sad to hear about the passing of John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach who racked up 10 national championships at UCLA while producing enough great players to fill a Hall of Fame. As a teenager, I cheered for the underdogs and cringed at all the championships in L.A. I was watching happily from a bar in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. in 1974, when Notre Dame ended the team's 88-game win streak -- a record that will likely stand forever.

But I respected Wooden and a coach, and understand why his books could fill a whole shelf. Among them are "They Call Me Coach," "The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership" and "My Personal Best : Life Lessons from an All-American Journey." (He may have set another record: for writing collaborators.) "A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring," was written with Don Yeager, who is collaborating with the Baltimore Ravens' Michael Oher on a memoir. They're a good place to get a sense of his genius for coaching and motivating.